Industry players will focus on providing functional or architectural descriptions instead of relying on the term “blockchain.”

The Australian Securities Exchange, for example, avoided the word “blockchain” when announcing its deployment of a “distributed ledger technology” for clearing and settlement earlier this year, focusing on its functionality, rather than looking for popularity.

While the hype around the word “blockchain” will subside in the coming year, we’ll see major blockchain-inspired applications in healthcare, financial, insurance, and E-Commerce sectors.

The best tip I can share is that – when deploying cryptocurrency custodial solutions in-house – you have to bring your treasury people on board.

Process is as important as technology.

When it comes to the impact of blockchain in affiliate marketing, the first application is in the realm of cryptocurrencies.

This will greatly reduce the frictions that currently exist due to the structure of the international payments system.

This will have a material impact on every industry from knowledge to entertainment.

Think about the entrepreneurs around the world who are still not able to promote ebooks, or their favorite Twitch streamer, because they are unbanked according to the standards of the traditional financial system.

Crypto comes to change all that.

The second mid-term implication has to do with the “tokenization” of attention:

It’s about finally bringing traceability and transparency to the market, and overcoming the limitations of cookie-based solutions.”

You should avoid speculation without significant research, and remember the lessons of the past.

Invest in what you know.

If it sounds too complicated or too good to be true, it probably is!

The best tip I can share about this topic is that this will be one of the biggest years for a distributed blockchain, and it will be considered the epoch of many technological firsts.

Bitcoin fostered excitement, but in reality the concept of a blockchain is here to stay!

The biggest impact I expect is the repudiation of transactions.

Both fraud and the quality of data are rampant issues in affiliate marketing.

Anything that lessens the risk while increasing the reliability and validity of information will have a major impact.

For example, proof of delivery of content based on cookies stored (forever?) in a blockchain that many affiliate programs utilize may increase the acceptance by service providers which may have historically avoided affiliate marketing.”

Serious blockchain enthusiasts will continue solving new use cases but fintech will still dominate when it comes to adopting Bitcoin.

As for common mistakes to avoid, you should never start mixing Bitcoin (cryptocurrency) and blockchain.

Blockchain is a concept/protocol whereas Bitcoin is one of the solutions/use cases built on blockchain.

Other mistakes?

Buying bitcoin.

Participating in ICOs.

Buying other cryptocurrencies.

The best tip I can share is to just ignore Bitcoin and think blockchain.

The biggest impact in affiliate marketing is that it can foster collaboration in marketers and the eventual collaboration of merchants.

Aggregators can also be impacted.”

Jeff Stollman, Technology Futurist

“The biggest blockchain trend?

People will begin to realize that Bitcoin’s rise in price has made it too costly for transactions other than investment purchases and will migrate transactions to another blockchain.

As for common mistakes, avoid getting caught up investing in cryptocurrencies without recognizing that many have limited long-term viability and will eventually crash.

The best tip I can share is that the cryptocurrency of the future will have a stable value that allows it to be used to support enterprise blockchain applications that will dwarf current consumer applications.

To make money on a stable-value currency will require investing in the company, not the currency.

As for the impact in the affiliate marketing industry, I think that smart contracts may enable automatic commission payments to affiliates, reducing the wait to get paid as well as the bureaucracy.

“2017 proved that blockchain technology is going to stay here for a long time. Last year’s crypto mania created an impressive market with a capitalization of over $500 billion. It has been immensely profitable for many players and – at the same time – incredibly turbulent and volatile.

2018 started with the collapse of Bitconnect, the largest crypto ponzi scheme so far. It wiped out $2.5 billion. There was also the hacking of a Coincheck that resulted in the loss of $530 million. Furthermore, Facebook banned all cryptocurrency and ICO ads on January 31st. These events reflect the serious challenges the crypto economy will face this year in terms of trust and security.

2017 was a year of ICOs. 2018 will be a year in which most will have to prove their worth. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s Co-Founder, estimates that 90% of all ICOs are doomed for various reasons. I think Vitalik’s opinion on crypto should definitely be taken seriously. I also believe the failure of early crypto startups and the exposure of scams will clear the way for more sophisticated and developed projects.

Reputable and trustworthy people are already looking into crypto. For example, Telegram is seeking to raise more than $2 billion during their ICO and Mark Zuckerberg believes that studying blockchain technology is a challenge for 2018. In spite of a ban on crypto ads on Facebook, its board of directors includes two important crypto investors: Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel.

Understanding even the basics of blockchain technology requires remarkable effort. For anyone thinking about investing in cryptos in any form, I recommend remembering Warren Buffet’s advice not to invest in assets you do not understand. The crypto market is unpredictable and vulnerable to fraud and crime.

You must be fully aware of these facts!

Another piece of advice is to take reliable sources of information into consideration. For instance, Buterin had warned that Bitconnect was a ponzi scheme two months before it collapsed. Blockchain technology already affects affiliate marketing and the crypto rush has created a new marketing niche. Serious money is involved in the advertisement of crypto-related products using various traffic channels, i.e. niche media, PPC, social media, display traffic.

Crypto offers are turning into a new vertical where affiliates can make money using the same methodologies they already know so well. The main challenge of crypto advertising – besides the existence of credible products for promotions – will continue to be traffic. 2017 was a year of a lack of quality crypto traffic, with demand surpassing supply.

As a result, quality affiliate sites, blogs and channels have now become super relevant for the market. The recent ban of crypto advertising on Facebook will increase the shortage of quality traffic. A potential solution might be coming up with composite marketing strategies that involve the combination of various channels, e.g. affiliate traffic, Telegram chats, and display traffic, and a more personalized approach with effective retargeting tools.

In terms of structure, crypto affiliate marketing is likely to become more structured with more affiliate programs established for already existing crypto offers, e.g. ICO, exchanges, crypto trading, crypto gambling.”

Conclusion

That’s it!

You’ve now gained incredibly awesome access to some of the most important trends, tricks, and strategies you can use when it comes to blockchain.

This remarkably advanced tech is here to stay so pay attention to what these pros have said, invest wisely, and make your move!